Although Flasback is probably my least favorite of the Keeper books, I still won't be reviewing it officially. All I'll say is that there are a specific, very predictable 300 pages that I very much do not enjoy.

Just like with my other "reviews" of this series, I'll include my notes on Flashback below. Please beware of possible spoilers for this book and the others in this series.
- (28) Terik is one of the Council members who insists that Alvar hang out with his family members. Is he helping the Neverseen out by putting Alvar in an easier-to-access location?
- (33) Alden's Offish is the only original room in Everglen (from when Luzia owned the house)? Someone else built it?
- (38) Okay, Fallon has some very accurate guesses about the Neverseen's plans for Alvar, and I'm not sure if he's just that smart or if he's hiding something
- (44) Realizing that part of the reason I love Dex so much is that he’s very much the trope of “taken advantage of” by everyone he meets. The Council consistently uses a 14-year-old boy and manipulates him into creating weapons for them. And while he does it willingly for the Black Swan and Sophie, the fact still exists that the only thing he is perceived to be useful for is his ability and his naivety, which allows him to be manipulated into creating weapons and other forms of technology. He’s a people pleaser at heart, thanks to a society that ignored and scorned him until it benefitted them to do otherwise. He constantly seeks validation because he’s sought it his entire life, and the minimal “power” and belonging he has now could be ripped away at any moment. It would be interesting to see what he could come up with when not influenced by those around him, just as I think a potential villain arc (as everyone around him seems to forget him more and more frequently) seems both possible and intriguing.
- (48) Fitz and Biana are mad at Dex, which is their own issue, but Sophie doesn’t even try to defend her alleged best friend
- (59) So Sophie is super clumsy but somehow naturally great at throwing stars?
- (70) Bets on whether there’s something hidden at the bottom of the Offish? (I might be putting this on my Keeper bingo board)
- (84) Apparently, Keefe talked about Sophie a LOT with the Neverseen, according to Umber
- (86) Gethen was recruited to the Neverseen because he’s a Washer?
- (106) So what we’ve learned so far is that the only thing capable of doing damage to the Neverseen is the power of *GAY* because Wylie hit them with a rainbow
- Thinking about Sandor and Grizel and how they’ve both thought the other dead … from Mount Everest to Grizel thinking Sandor died in the Havenfield massacre to Sandor watching Grizel be injured just a few chapters ago … they’d walk through Tartarus for each other (and yes I’m referencing Percabeth again)
- When loyalty is Sandor's fatal flaw (he wants to protect everyone and can’t, and when he fails, he falls apart and tries to resign), and hubris might be Grizels (she thinks she’s better than Sandor at times)… that’s what I mean when I say Percabeth coded
- (130) is Sarah J, Maas ghostwriting this because there’s suddenly a lot of the word “female”
- (147) What did Keefe promise Alden?
- (156) So apparently, Ruy’s addler just doesn’t look like an addler and Sophie was stupid enough not to realize she didn’t know what he looked like until now
- (157) Ruy says he wiped away all records of appearance, although Keefe doesn’t know why (is he vain or is his appearance important?), but also Forkle literally said the Black Swan has copies of all these records, so why haven’t they looked
- (190) Sophie notes that Zillah has gold nails instead of black, so she can’t be Umber … but also, I’m assuming someone would notice if someone suddenly disappeared after Umber dies
- Okay, but from an actual medical standpoint … which elf collected yeti pee and thought, “Oh, I wonder if this would heal my burn”
- (332) The whole matchmaking thing is weird in general, and it’s probably the main issue I have with Fitz … I understand that it was part of how he was raised and that a lot of his opinions have been formed based on his childhood experiences, but he pressures Sophie about registering for the match, and yes I could attribute it to his overprotectiveness (if they’re on each other's lists, they’re spared from the scorn of a bad match), it’s just annoying that he won’t shut up about it … although I think some of that is Shannon purposefully “poisoning” his character arc to make Keefe a better option
- (354) Okay, Gisela must’ve bought like mass stocks of sedatives because Keefe remembers her drugging him just so he’d stop crying
- (391) You’re telling me Elwin can’t make a new leg for Terik when he has marrow, muscle, skin, and nerve regenerators?
- (423) I could be stupid, but did we ever figure out who the green eyes were that Keefe remembered? Were they that British guy's?
- (431) Forkle knows how to braid hair well … I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he had a secret lover …
- (446) What is Tinker's issue with goblins and fire? Are they connected?
- (459) Love when Dex is told that weapons take priority over his family and friends
- (486) Okay, so literally every species but elves and humans can smell way better than they should because Tarina, Bo, Sandor, and Flori (I don’t know about Nubiti) can smell Elwin on Sophie’s clothes
- (507) Sandor can paint. He can paint realistically. He might have painted Grizel. He might have a locket or a hand-painted picture of her that he keeps in his armor.
- (577) If Sophie’s bedroom used to be a reception hall for winnowing galas, why does it have an Olympic-sized swimming pool of a bathtub
- Does it ever rain in the lost cities?
- (579) “Willowing Galas are restricted to people on your match list and their parents” - So if Fitz wasn’t even allowed to go to Alvar's Willing Galas, why were Kenric and Oralie at Jolie's?
- (586) Honestly, props to Silveny for interrupting what could only be a really lame kissing scene
- (652) I’ve always wondered how Nubiti keeps up with Sophie when she light leaps? Like, does she tunnel the whole way across the world?
- (770) In all of the planning and testing the council did on Alvar, did no one think to mimic voices?
- (775) Vespera says that Ruy’s identity is still hidden … so is Ruy Tonio Ignis not even a real person? Is it a made up name to hide Ruy’s true identity?
- (791) Wait, am I stupid? How did the Neverseen get Orem to give them Luzia’s DNA
- (796) We don’t even get to see Ruy’s reaction to having his power cut off by Tam, but Vespera has to grab him to light leap away, so he’s probably not having a great time :(
- (802) Ugh, and it STILL drives me nuts that they never bothered to do DNA testing to see who Umber truly was
- (808) The fact that Fitz was able to kill his brother (or he believed he did, at least) makes me think that sanity isn’t as fragile as the elves make it out to be … or Fitz just isn’t like other girls
- (823) Literally, why don’t the elves use guns? Because in the 5 minutes Gisela has been lecturing, a machine gun or literally any other firearm could’ve taken her out in a matter of minutes. Or chemical warfare with gas masks. I’m not saying I encourage these items, but literally, why hasn’t anyone tried them?
(830) Okay, if elves can survive temperatures of up to if not over, 150 degrees, then they really should go to space because they probably don’t even need space suits